1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle wheel having a rigid rim on which can be mounted a pneumatic vehicle tire which is made of rubber or rubber-like synthetic material, and which has a carcass which is anchored in the beads of the tire by being looped around pull-resistant and compression-resistant bead cores. The rim is provided with rim flanges which extend essentially radially inwardly. Disposed on the radially inner periphery of the rim, next to the rim flanges, are seating surfaces for the tire, and next to these are recessed mounting portions or deep mounting beds which are delimited by vertical and/or inclined walls of the rim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A vehicle wheel of this general type is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 30 00 428, and also in co-pending U S. Pat. application Ser. No. 645,029 Mauk et al, which was filed on Aug. 28, 1984, and belongs to the assignee of the present application. Although vehicle wheels of this type have excellent driving characteristics during normal driving operation, and the tires mounted thereon can still be driven a considerable distance after a blow out without permanently damaging the tire, these wheels have a fundamental drawback in that due to the disposition of the tire beads on the radially inner side of the rim, a space results behind the tire beads; rain and wash water which has penetrated into this space can no longer flow off, and dirt can accumulate in this space.
To avoid these drawbacks, it has already been proposed to close-off the aforementioned mounting space having the deep mounting bed with the aid of a filler ring subsequent to mounting of the tire, or to protect this mounting space by means of a cover ring. However, both measures are rather expensive and complicated, and result in a not inconsiderable increase of the total weight.
An object of the present invention, in a vehicle wheel of the aforementioned general type, therefore is to close-off the mounting space in the vicinity of the deep mounting bed in a simpler manner than previously done.